


Keeping Distance

by Futchbear



Category: Wentworth (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-06 18:09:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13416756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Futchbear/pseuds/Futchbear
Summary: It's been over a year since Harry went to prison, and about five months since he was beaten to death while serving his sentence for the abuse of his wife, Bea. Bea is finally able to breathe and feels that Debbie is protected fully. One night she comes across a young, blonde prostitute named Allie. Bea is lonely and is struck by this younger woman. After time together, Bea decides to take things further but wants to maintain a boundary.





	1. Trim Tap

**Author's Note:**

> This is first chapter of the longer story I was going to do after writing Touch Me. I have an idea of how I want this to play out, but I am not sure how many chapters it will be. Please enjoy.
> 
> Comment if you have any ideas you would like me to try and incorporate. I am happy to oblige...sometimes ;)

It was early morning and the sun fell threw the window. A phone rang out to wake the woman sleep was clinging to, and as much as sleep was clinging to her, she was even less willing to let go of this welcomed friend. Blood red curls parted as the woman groggily looked at her phone. “Good morning, Liz.”

“Morning, Love,” came the voice on the other end. “Just calling to check and make sure we were still on for coffee?”

“Mhmm…if I can ever get up.”

“Didn’t disturb any good dreams I hope,” chuckled the woman on the line.

“You know I rarely dream anymore, Liz.”

“You should try it, Bea! Dreams bring joy and cheer! Now get your bum outta bed. We have a lot of work to do this week.”

“Yep…I’m getting there…one leg out already,” the redhead grudgingly hung her leg out and let her toes dangle over the cool wood floor. She rolled her body to follow suit and sit up giving a long stretch and hearty yawn in the process.

“That’s it, Love. Let the world know you’re on the move.”

“I’ll see you in about an hour, Liz.”

“Sounds good!”

Bea hung up the phone and laid it on the bed. She moved her head from side to side and braced herself to launch into standing position. Making her way into the bathroom with her eyes still half shut, she turned on the shower and grabbed a tooth brush. The events of the last few months, while exhilarating, were taking up most of her time and energy. The planning and logistics of opening her new business were drawing to the close, and ensuring everything was in order brought on more stress than she had bargained for.

Hair washed. Clothes on. Wallet and keys in pocket. Bea was out the door and on her way to meet the woman who so kindly woke her from her slumber.

As she walked into the cafe, she spotted her friend from afar; the blonde curls untamed as ever. They greeted with a warm embrace that showed the evidence of their bond over the last few years. The pasts of both women were flawed, and they had met in one of the most unlikely of places. Prison, of course, is not a place where one would expect to meet someone they could later call a life-long friend, but Liz came into Bea’s life in an almost serendipitous fashion. Within the first week to Bea’s six month sentence, Liz had taken her under her short, stubby wings and provided guidance when the redhead thought that her life had almost certainly hit rock bottom.

Bea let out a sigh, “Ugh. Is it almost over? All of this finalizing is so tiring.”

“Sit down. You’re coffee is already here and waiting for ya, Queen Bea.”

“Oh, hush, Liz. I’m no queen.”

“What we are doing here -No. What you started is going to be a great thing. That makes you a queen in my eyes and it will in everyone else’s too.” Liz looked on at the exhausted woman in front of her. She had been the first person Bea had called with the idea of a business that would primarily help to employ reformed women. 

“Whatever you say. You’re doing even more than I am.”

Liz smiled, “Well, of course I am. I’m old and have no life and no one else to look after other than you, and you make that job pretty easy these days.”

Bea realized that was probably true. She no longer had a husband that Liz needed to protect her from anymore, and now that Bea’s daughter, Debbie, was off at university for most of the year, the two women just met up to chat and keep one another company. 

“Alright,” Bea smiled back, “Hit me. What all do we have lined up for today?”

“Well, I know you have work, but I was wondering if you would come by this evening to just take a look over everything with me. The construction crew finished three days ago so all of their stuff should be out. I’ve got a cleaning crew coming in to tidy it all up for the final inspection tomorrow.”

“Where is Franky with the all of the licenses?”

“Ye of little faith,” Liz said reaching down for a tied envelope. “She brought it to me Friday. I’ve checked. Everything is in there.”

“That’s a surprise,” Bea joked.

“You know as much as me that Franky kids about, but deep down, this means as much to her as it does to any of us.”

She chuckled, “I know she likes to play like she doesn’t care. I’m just glad she didn’t let showing off get in the way of actually following through,” Bea explained right before she downed her coffee. “Okay. Is there anything else?”

“Nope. I was just making sure I got your ass out of bed and caffeinated before work,” Liz cheekily threw towards the redhead.

Bea smiled into her cup and mocked, “Aww, thanks, Mum.” She threw the older woman a wink and stood up to give her another hug. 

On her way out she ordered two coffees to go and headed towards Trim, the salon she had worked at on and off for over ten years. Walking threw the door, she danced around the counter and planted one of the coffees on the station next to hers. It belonged to a tall brunette named Maxine, one of the kindest and least judgmental women Bea had ever known in her life. Though they had grown extremely close, they still maintained a reasonably professional relationship in the workplace since Maxine was her employer.

“You are a doll, Bea,” Maxine cooed before reaching almost immediately for the drink Bea had brought her. “You seem pretty happy this morning.”

“It’s almost there, Maxi. You coming to the private opening Friday if everything goes well tomorrow?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I am your partner in that affair.”

“Silent partner,” Bea corrected.

“Bloody hell, I gave you half my business name. I don’t know what is so silent about that. Now hop to. We are pretty much booked the entire day.”

“You got it, boss,” Bea saluted.

Maxine wasn’t lying. Bea barely had time to take a break to eat, but she was also grateful. It took her mind off the exterior stressors. Closing came before she knew it, and Maxine was rushing her out the door so she could go meet up again with Liz. 

As she parked her car, she looked up at the sign of her new place: Trim Tap. She had wanted to make a swanky place that could be multi-functional. The plan was to open a restaurant that also had two hair stations for overflow when Trim was overbooked. This would also allow Bea to take clients during the day if she needed to manage the restaurant at the same time. Maxine had been extremely supportive and felt it would even be good for her own business. The location also allowed for it to continue as a bar at night on the weekends. Looking up at the sign, be felt a lump in her throat. She almost could not believe this was happening. So many times in her life she had seen hope within reach just to have it ripped away from her, but this time there truly was no more Harry. She was free.

She pulled her keys from the ignition and stepped out of her car. The lights were on, and she could see Liz moving things around through the window. Smiling widely she began to walk towards the entrance, but her gaze was distracted by someone a few hundred feet away. Squinting her eyes, she noticed that it was a young woman leaning against one of the brick buildings with her head back. Her knees were bent and her eyes closed. Her clothes were skin tight and practically non-existent. The skirt barely reached the upper quarter of her thigh and her top cut in a V so low the majority of her cleavage was visible even from the distance Bea was standing at. She had long blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders, but the waves in it were messy and dirty. 

Bea kept walking, and as she opened the door she took one more look at the woman. _Fucking prostitutes _she thought to herself, and then she walked inside.__


	2. Close Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allie and Bea meet, but it is certainly not the most romantic of moments.

_How the fuck did I get here? _Allie thought to herself. Her hair was grungy and her clothes were almost gone. She had had a three-quarter sleeve jumper that she favored to cover up her chest, but it had currently gone missing. Her eyes were burning. Her body was shaking. Her head was pounding. She steadied herself against the only thing she could find while she attempted to recall how she had wound up on this strip.__

___Was it the john? Maybe my last hit was too hard? _She felt her arms, legs, and face to check for any tenderness that might reflect bruising. There was none. She saw a pair of headlights coming down the street and then slowing as the vehicle pulled off to the side of the road. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back hoping that at this point in the night it would not be some asshole she knew. The footsteps slowed for just a moment and then kept going. She heard a door open and then close allowing her to release the breath she had been holding in.__ _ _

____—_ _ _ _

____A very frustrated Bea walked into Trim Tap to be greeted by a very jubilant Liz. Seeing the look on Bea’s face, the older woman took her immediate mum stance. “Hey, you. What’s the matter?”_ _ _ _

____“Nothing much. Did you see a woman hanging outside the shop?”_ _ _ _

____“No, not that I can remember, but I’ve also been here for the last three hours or so. She okay?” Liz asked with concern._ _ _ _

____“I dunno. She looks pretty strung out. It’s like this shit never gets away from you, ya know?” the redhead said referring to the line of drugs that used to come through Wentworth Prison while she and Liz spent their time there, and it had always brought a seething rage into Bea’s mind. It wasn’t necessarily the women who used them that she had a problem with but the women they became once they’d had a taste. It was a constant cycle of them cleaning up while they couldn’t get ahold of the gear just to go back to it once it flooded the prison. They would use, lie, and manipulate whoever they had to to get a fix, and Bea would just watch it play out like a simple pattern with no deviation. It made her sick._ _ _ _

____Liz looked down, “Well, it is never anything pretty, but I can honestly understand where some of those women come from. It’s a lonely life, this life. Some people just don’t see any other way to cope with it.”_ _ _ _

____“Bullshit,” Bea said with a fire, “There is always something to hold on to. What’s the point of living like that?”_ _ _ _

____“May I speak plainly, Love?” Liz asked and she looked for the slight sideways stare Bea always gave her when she was willing to listen to another perspective (possibly). “You’ve always had something to hold on to. You’ve had Debbie for all these years, and even with the fucked up things Harry did to you and all the things you had to live through, you still had her to love and protect. Not everyone has been so lucky.” She was referring to Bea’s late husband, Harry; a man without whom she may have never even met Liz. It was, of course, his attempted murder that had landed her in prison. Her charge had been Grievous Bodily Harm, but Harry never pressed charges. Bea never quite understood why. It could only be one of two reasons: either he was too embarrassed since he was such a “big” man, or it was because he just wanted to get her home sooner so that he could act out his retribution. In hindsight, Bea was pretty sure it was the latter._ _ _ _

____“I wouldn’t necessarily say lucky about Harry,” Bea began, “but Debbie is certainly something special.” Sadness swept over Bea as she thought about how much she missed her daughter being home. She didn’t want to constantly bother her while she was off at university starting an independent life. So she would settle for the phone calls they shared once or twice a day when Debbie would call. “I miss her so much, Liz.”_ _ _ _

____“Come here,” she held out her arms for Bea to curl up in. “Now, don’t go off shooting up gear on me.”_ _ _ _

____Bea chuckled, “You know I would never do that.”_ _ _ _

____“I know, Love. You’re going to be just fine. We just have to get you the three necessities of life!”_ _ _ _

____“Which are?”_ _ _ _

____“Let’s see…um, there’s something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to.”_ _ _ _

____“Well, clearly I’ve got something to do,” Bea scoffed as she looked around their new place. It was perfect. The long wood bar was finished with a dark stain, and it was a perfect contrast with the chic red walls that had pieces of plaster removed to reveal the brick. The tables led up to the small performance stage that Bea had converted to her salon area complete with a washing station. She loved that it put her above the rest of the restaurant so that when she was there she could keep an eye on everything in the room if she needed to. “I always have Debbie to look forward to…”_ _ _ _

____“Someone to love, Bea?”_ _ _ _

____“Nah. I don’t think that’s for me.”_ _ _ _

____—_ _ _ _

____After relaxing for some time, Allie began to search her person for her belongings. She checked the front pockets on her jean skirt. Two baggies. Good. Cash. Even better. One corner of her mouth perked up and she smiled to herself _Guess you get to live to fight for another day, Alliecat. _She didn’t even know why she kept fighting anymore, and then she took one of the baggies out of her pocket again. Looking around, she put a small portion of white powder on her outer palm between her thumb and pointer finger and brought it to her nose hoping it would help her think more clearly.___ _ _ _

______Allie remembered she had been doing her normal rounds near Ferguson’s club. She had gotten a few bites earlier but only enough to add an additional thirty quid to her pretty diminished money holdings. And then there was the fuck in the back alley that had scored her two grams since her regular wasn’t holding cash. _At least that’ll come in handy _she thought. And then she found her answer reaching into her back left pocket: an extra twenty. _That’s it! _The silver Nissan she had sucked off. They had smoked afterwards. She must have asked for him to let her out when they were finished, but where the hell was she? Rotating herself on the wall she looked for any street signs. She recognized the strip, but it wasn’t one she frequented all that often, and because of that she really wasn’t sure where it was located._____ _ _ _ _ _

__________She had no idea how long she had been standing there when a door a short ways down opened, and she saw a woman walk out heading towards one of the only two cars parked on the street. Allie checked her clothes to straiten them up before walking over and realized once again that she was missing the jacket she used to cover herself. She figured she must have left it with Mr. Nissan. Hesitating slightly, she pushed herself off the wall and began putting her hair up while she walked towards the woman. “Excuse me,” she said, “I appear to be a little lost.” The other woman kept walking. Focusing a great deal on trying to walk in a straight line, Allie sped up her pace to catch up to the woman._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________As Bea came out of the restaurant, she saw that the woman was still standing outside of her establishment. Turning to bid Liz farewell, she looked at the blonde one more time. Even from this distance and with quick glances she could see the attractive features of the young woman. Bea found that this upset her even more, and she turned towards her car and began to walk. Soon she could here the slow clicking of heals behind her and the blonde calling out. She ignored her and focused on getting to her car, but the footsteps quickened._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Allie was getting closer, and she called out again, “Excuse me!” She was almost to her, “Hey!” Suddenly, the other woman turned in a wave of fire-engine red hair._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Bea didn’t know what to do. It was obvious she didn’t want to talk. Why was this girl bothering her? “What?!” She yelled when it felt like the blonde was right behind her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I…I…was…” Allie stuttered. The anger radiating off of the redhead was intimidating. There was a long pause._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You were…?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“…was wondering if you could tell me where I am,” Allie finally got out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Downtown,” the Bea snapped._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Well that’s vague,” Allie laughed, but her smile subsided as she saw the way the other woman was looking at her, the disgust in her eyes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You asked. I gave an answer. Will you leave me alone now?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Sorry, I was just trying to be nice.” Allie stepped a little closer. “Is there any way I could give you money for a ride to the north end?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________As the woman drew closer to her, Bea finally got a good look at her. She couldn’t have been older than thirty, and she could see the blueness of her eyes even through the disheveled mascara. Her hardness began to melt. “Look at you,” she said, “You’re a mess.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Allie was taken aback. Could she tell? “No…No, I’m not,” Allie tried to make sure her words came out without slurring. “I’m good. I just–”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Just what?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Allie looked into the eyes of the redhead and she could not put her finger on what it was she saw in them. Allie suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. Without knowing she began to walk towards the woman slightly lifting her hand. “I just…need you,” fell out of Allie’s mouth. She saw the softness turn to confusion as it spread across the face of the woman standing before her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Bea had no idea how to even respond to that, but she didn’t have time to think. The blonde was getting closer. Bea looked down at the hand that was out and back at the blue eyes and then to the lips of the young woman before her. She didn’t know what to do. And the statement coming from the mouth of a woman like her just angered Bea. This woman didn’t need her, and certainly didn’t want her. No one would want her. All this girl “needed” was to use her up like everyone else had in the past. “Junkies…you’re all the same,” she growled in a low voice. The statement made the young blonde stop immediately and tears began to form in her eyes. Bea immediately disliked the taste of the words that had come from her mouth, but she was in flight mode. She wanted those blue eyes as far away from her as possible. She continued with her finger pointed in the other direction, “If you go down about eight blocks and take a left, you’ll find a few places filled with people you can ‘need’ more than me. Now get away from my bar and out of my sight while you can still walk.” She turned and got in her car._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Allie slowly backed away as she watched the car drive off. She was stung by the words of the woman, and she had no idea why. They weren’t uncommon to Allie. She was used to being called a junkie and a whore. There was no question. She was indeed both of those things, and she had accepted it, even embraced it in a way that allowed her to take the insults from the people she came across every day. For some reason, this was different, almost as if the woman had been able to see right through the shell Allie had created to protect herself from the biting remarks of others, almost as if Allie could not hide from the gaze of the deep eyes she had stared in to only for a brief moment. The tears that had begun to form in her eyes fell and continued to fall unabashedly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Looking across the street at the entrance to where the woman had come from, Allie looked up. Trim Tap. _I will have to remember that. _She reached into her pocket again, took a bump, and headed in the direction she had been told to go by the redhead. When she turned left as she was instructed, she saw what had been meant. There were two gentlemen’s clubs with some of the “gentlemen” standing outside. She laughed to herself. The redhead was right. She could find someone here, but it was no one she needed. Initiating her thick skin, Allie sauntered towards the men ahead of her, the eyes of the redhead solely in her mind.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________—_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Within five minutes of driving off, Bea regretted everything she had said to the young woman, and the image of tears forming in those blue eyes seared into her brain. She pulled over. She couldn’t just leave, but she didn’t know how to make up for what she had done. _What’re you gonna do, Bea? Run off and be some kind of knight in shining fucking armor? _She gritted her teeth and let out a strained cry, “Fuck!” And with that, she turned around and headed back to Trim Tap.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you are all enjoying the story so far. I will admit the first draft of this chapter even had me cringe a bit. I had to soften Bea a little more. Let me know what ya think.


End file.
